Popularity and developments in the paintball industry have led to the demand for increased performance from paintball guns, which are compressed gas guns, also referred to as “markers.” Paintball gun users usually partake in paintball sport games. A paintball sport game is generally played between two teams of players that try to capture the opposing team's flag. Each flag is located at the team's home base. Such a game is played on a large field with opposing home bases at each end. The players are each armed with a paintball gun that shoots paintballs. Paintballs are generally gelatin-covered spherical projectiles, such as capsules filled with paint, such as a colored dye.
During the game, the players of each team advance toward the opposing team's base in an attempt to steal the opposing team's flag. The players must do so without first being eliminated from the game by being hit by a paintball shot by an opponent's marker. When a player is hit by a paintball, the gelatin capsule ruptures and the paint “marks” the player. As a result the player is out of the game.
These sport games have increased in popularity and sophistication resulting in more elaborate equipment. One such improvement is the use of semi-automatic and automatic paintball guns which allow for rapid firing of paintballs. As a result of the increased firing speed, a need has developed for increased storage capacity of paintballs in the paintball loaders that are mounted to the gun. Also, users demand faster feed rates as the guns continue to develop.
Paintball loaders (otherwise known as “hoppers” or “magazines”) sit atop the markers and feed projectiles into the marker. These loaders (the terms “hopper” and “loader” are used interchangeably herein) store projectiles, and have an outlet or exit tube (outfeed tube or neck). The outlet tube is connected to an inlet tube (or feed neck) of a paintball marker, which is in communication with the breech of the paintball marker.
Many loaders contain agitators or drive feed systems to mix, propel, or otherwise move projectiles in the loader. This mixing is performed by an impeller, projection, drive cone, agitator, paddle, arm, fin, carrier, or any other mechanism, such as those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,213,110; 6,502,567; 5,947,100; 5,791,325; 5,954,042; 6,109,252; 6,889,680; and 6,792,933, the entire contents of which are all incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. In a “gravity feed” or “agitating” loader, an agitator mixes projectiles so that no jams occur at the exit opening of the outlet tube. In a “force feed” or “active feed” paintball loader, the agitator (drive cone, carrier, paddle, arm or any other force feed drive system) forces projectiles through the exit tube. Because it is desirable to eliminate as many opposing players as possible, paintball markers are capable of semi-automatic rapid fire. The paintball loaders act to hold a quantity of projectiles, and ensure proper feeding of the projectiles to the marker for firing. All of the various forms of impellers described are referred to collectively herein as “agitators.”
During normal operation of an agitating paintball loader, paintballs dropped through a bottom outlet opening of the loader form a paintball stack within the outlet tube and gun inlet tube. When the paintball at the bottom of the stack is dropped into the firing chamber of the paintball gun, it is replaced, at the top of the stack, from the supply of paintballs remaining in the loader housing, thereby replenishing the stack. In replenishing the stack of paintballs, however, jams sometimes occur within the loader, above its bottom outlet opening. Paintball jams of this nature prevent normal gravity-fed delivery of paintballs downwardly through the bottom outlet opening, with the result that the paintball stack can be totally depleted after several shots of the paintball gun.
One solution for clearing paintball jams involves forcibly shaking the paintball gun and attached loader to dislodge the paintballs that are causing the jam within the loader. This solution is undesirable as it interrupts the proper aiming of the paintball gun and correspondingly interrupts the paintball gun user's ability to shoot the paintballs continuously and rapidly.
Many paintball loaders include an agitator housed within the loader. An agitator is typically a rotating member with paddles, fins or other types of impellers. The fins of the agitator continually agitate, jumble, or stir the paintballs within the loader, which reduces the likelihood of a loader jam as the paintballs fall under the force of gravity from the outlet tube of the loader to the inlet tube of the paintball gun for firing. When a jam does occur, however, a conventional agitator typically continues to rotate despite the jam, possibly breaking paintballs. Thus, the agitator continues to contact jammed paintballs and continues to try to move the paintballs. Such a condition typically stops the feeding of paintballs, can damage or break paintballs, and can render the agitator and/or loader inoperable.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved agitator that effectively operates within a paintball loader notwithstanding the potential for jammed paintballs within the loader.